Condensing apparatus for carding-machines.



W. D. RUNDLETT.

GONDENSING APPARATUS FOR UARDING MAGHINES.

APPLICATION FILED 11017.20, 1912.

1,103,541 Patented July 14,1914.

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marten s'rnrns PATENT onrion.

WILLIAM J). IRUNDLETT, OF NORTH ANDOVER, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR TODAVIS & FURBER MACHINE COMPANY, PORATION OF MASSACHUSETTS,

OF NORTH ANDOVER, MASSACHUSETTS, A, COR-r GONDENSING APPARATUS FORCARDING MACIZEINES.

inoasai,

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented July 14, 1914;

Application filed November 20, 1912. Serial No. 732,456.

This invention relates particularly to con:

densing apparatus for carding machines used for treating jute waste andsimilar refra'ctory and short-fibered material to facilitate themanufacture of yarn therefrom.

Jute, jute waste, gunny bagging, and the like, is exceedingly diflicultto treat in a rapid and economical manner between the carding andspinning operations, for While such material can be carded readily theresulting thin film or sheet of sliver taken from the dofiing point hasso little inherent strength and coherence that it is exceedinglydiflicult to conoense or compact the same efficiently in order that thecondensed sliver may be manipulated and treated readily in subsequentoperations.

My present invention has for its object to provide a novel and simplecondensing apparatus for carding machines so constructed and arrangedthat refractory and short-fibered material such as hereinbefore referredto can be treated in a rapid, economical and satisfactory manner.

In accordance with my invention the film or sheet of sliver is conveyedin a direct, fiat and downwardly inclinedv path extending tangentiallyfrom the dofiing point-to the condensing device without any change ordeviation until the film or sheet is very close to the trumpet forming apart of the condensing device, thereby reducing to a minimum thetendency of the sliver to rupture or break and increasing the output. o

In treating such a material as jute waste the maximum production of themachine is desired, insuring the delivery from the doffer of a film orsheet of sliver of reasonable thickness, but it could not support itselfthroughthe necessary distance between the dofling point and the point atwhich condensation of the sliver is effected; This distance must be longenough to permit convenient and ready piecing-up of the sliver when itbreaks, and such distance must be traversed by the sliver.

In my present invention I sustain the sliver practically the entiredistance between the doiiing and condensing points, and for such purposeI interpose therebetween a smooth, fiat and preferably polished supportplaced at such an angle that while the sliver is sustained the variousforces acting upon the same will operate conj'ointly to cause a uniformand uninterrupted flow thereof over the support to the condensing point.

The push of the vibrating comb which crowds the sliver away from thedoffing point imparts the desired body or thickness to the film and alsotends to keep it moving downward over the support, the slight frictionalresistance of the latter being overcome by the vibration of the machineand the angle of inclination of the support, the

supported film or sheet of sliver being assisted to travel withsuliicient rapidity by the action of gravity and the draft of the rollsof the condensing apparatus. Manifestly the rate of travel of the slivermust be practically uniform and at such speed that the film or sheetwill not be ruptured before it reaches the condensing means nor undulycompacted or choked'into the trumpet.

Herein the condensing means comprises a trumpet which is disposedcentrally with relation to the approaching film or sheet of sliver, andcondensing rolls which receive between themand condense the gathered insliver as it emerges from the trumpet. Said trumpet gathers in the 'filmor sheet from a point very near its mouth and the delivery nose of'thetrumpet is located as, closeas possibleto'the nip of the condensingrolls. The gathering together of the sheet of sliver at the mouth of thetrumpet is caused mainly and primarily by the draft of the condensingrolls located adjacent the delivery end of the trumpet.

Sliver breakage may be due to rupture of,

the film before it reaches. the trumpet, 9r the rupture occur at therolls by reason of the material choking in the trumpet, hence thevarious forcesvacting upon the sliver after it leaves the d nse pointmust Each sheet or film of sliver travels from the doffing point directto its own particular condensing means, and I have provlded the inclinedsliver support, which preferably extends across the machine, withupright and parallel partitions which maintain sepa rated adjacentslivers.

The arrangement of the partitions parallel to the flow or travel of theslivers over the support obviates any tendency to hold back or retardthe edges of 'a sliver, with consequent rupture, and when any particularsliver breaks it can be pieced-up readily and quickly withoutinterfering with the adj acent slivers.

In actual practice the gathering in or contraction of the film or sheetof sliver is very sudden, that is,'it begins very close to the mouth ofthe trumpet, so that the angle between the trumpet and the sides of thesliver of full width is very obtuse, as will be shown hereinafter, saidgathering in, as above stated, being due mainly to the draft of thecondensing rolls.

, To prevent thecollection of small particles of fiber in the cornersformed by the separating partitions and the plate in which the trumpetis set I prefer to curve the lower ends of each pair of partitionsinward toward the mouth of the trumpet, the curvature correspondingsubstantially to the contour of the sliver adj acent thereto. Suchcurved portions prevent accumulations of fiber and obviate the breakageof sliver which would occur inevitably should the sliver edges contactwith such an accumulation.

The various novel features of my invention will be fully described inthe subjoined specification and particularly pointed .out in thefollowing claims.

1 Figure 1 is a side elevation and part section of a suiiicient portionof a carding machine to beunderstood, with one practical form of mypresent invention embodied therein, the section being taken on the line11 Fig. 2; Fig. 2 is a left hand end view of a portion of the mechanismshown in Fig. 1, showing the rolls of two of the condensing devices, anda portion of the transversely extended sliver support; Fig. 3 is a planview, on a smaller scale, of a portion of the sliver support, to showmore clearly the gathering in of the film or sheet of sliver by thetrumpet of. the conshown at 1 a portion of a doffing roll or cylinder,suitably clothed at 2 to take the carded material from the maincylinder, (not shown) the material being doffed in a plurality ofdistinct sheets or films of sliver, said roll 1 turning in the directionof the arrow 3 and having an attached gear 1.

The frame sides 5 are provided with stands, as 6, having suitablebearings for the comb shaft 7 provided with arms 8 carrying thevibrating comb 9, the latter being vibrated in any suitable or usualmanner to comb from the dofling roll 1 the sheets or films of sliver. Atthe end of the main frame the stands 6 are extended at 10 and connectedby a rigid cross-brace 11 upon which the condensing apparatus is mountedat some distanceaway from and below the comb, such apparatuscomprehending aplurality of units each of which consists essen- .tiallyof a trumpet or sliver gat-herer 12,

Figs. 1 and 3, and an adjacent cooperating pair of condensing rolls 13,14:, parallel to the axis of rotation of the dotting cylinder.

Each pair of rolls is shown as mounted in a suitable frame comprising abase 15 and upturned sides 16, having suitable-bearings for the rolls,the latter having at tached intermeshing gears 17, 18, respectively,driven by gears 19, Fig. 2, on a transverse shaft 20 having its bearingsin the stands 8. This shaft is driven in any suitable manner, hereinshown as by gears 21, 22 from the large gear 1. It will beseen that thesides 16 of the roll frames are in clined, and upon the upright edgesthereof toward the doifer cylinder 1' is secured a densing points, theaxes of the trumpets being parallel to such plane of travel and slightlyabove the same, as shown in Fig.1.

While I have herein shown the trumpets arranged with their axes parallelto the plane of travel of the sliver it'is to be understood that theinvention is not to be limited to the specific form shown and described,as various modifications thereof may be made without departing from thespirit and scope of the invention as set forth in the appended claims.

The dolfing point is the point at which the comb takes the sliver fromthe doffing cylinder, and extending tangentially from this point to thetrumpet plate 23 I interpose a sliver support 24, preferably a flatplate of metal having its upper surface polished to minimize frictionand extended transversely of the frame.

A cross-girth, 25 is fixedly securedat its ends by bolts 26 to thestands 6 and upon said cross-girth the supporting plate 24; is rigidlymounted, the angle of such sliver support or plate being such that whilethe sliver is effectually supported it will travel or flow freely alongthe surface of the support as the action of gravity, the push of thecomb upon the sliver, the draft of the condensing rolls, and thevibration of the machine operate conjointly upon the sliver.

In order to bring the plane of the support as near as is desirable tothe axis of the trumpet the latter is cut away at its lower edge, as at27, Fig. 1. The distance between the doffing point and the mouth of thetrumpet is amply sufficient to permit the necessary manipulation whenpiecing-up the sliver, as will be apparent from Fig. 1.

A series of upright and parallel partitions or guides 28 are mounted onthe support 24, separated from each other a greater distance than thewidth o-fa sheet or film of sliver 29, Fig. 3, which traverses thesupport between each pair of guides, the latter being also parallel tothe direction of travel of the slivers. These guides separate adjacentslivers, so that if any one of them breaks or spreads unduly as itpasses over the inclined support it will not interfere with an adjacentsliver.

I have found in practice that a sliver say about 7-3; inches wide willbe readily gathered in by a trumpet having a diameter at its mouth ofabout 1-}- inches, and an internal nose diameter of say f of an inch,but it will be understood that these dimensions are variable, and areemployed for illustrative purposes and not in any limiting sense.

The sheet or film o-f sliver fiows downward over the inclined support 21- and at a point quite close to the mouth of the trumpet the lattergathers in and somewhat compacts the sliver, sufficiently for thecompacted mass to travel the short distance from the support to thelower portion of the trumpet without breakage. The compacted, rope-likesliver is delivered by the nose of the trumpet to the condensing rolls13, 14, as close as possible to the nip thereof, and the compressing andcondensing action exerted by the rolls so strengthens the sliver that itcan be treated readily in subsequent operations, the condensed sliver orslubbing, indicated at 30, Fig. 1, passing over the cross-plate 11 andan apron 31 to suitable cans, not shown. It will be seen that the sliveris supported the entire distance from the dofiing point to the trumpetwith the exception of the very short space immediately adjacent thetrumpet lip, over which short space the sliver, then gathered togetherand partly compacted, will readily support itself.

The spread out sheet or film of sliver if unsupported, cannot span therequisite distance between the dofling point and the condensing means,and this is particularly so nearer the dofiing point, where theagitation of the sliver is greatest. If the support be horizontal, ornearly so, the forces acting upon the sliver cannot effect the travelthereof to the condensing means, as the inertia of the sliver and thefrictional resistance are too great to be overcome by the very slightcoherence of the fibers forming the sliver. Consequently the supportmust be inclined at such an angle that frictional resistance to travelof the sliver is so diminished as to enable the draft of the rolls toexert itself upon the sliver, while the thickness of the latter isregulated by the accumulation due to the doffing comb relatively to thespeed of travel of the sliver, and an even, smooth and uniform flow ofthe sliver over the support is attained. Obviously the inclination ofthe sliver support determines the height of the trumpet relatively tothe dofling point. It may be stated that the thinner the sheet or filmof sliver and the shorter the fibers composing the same the greater theinclination of the sliver support2l. Theoretically, if the trumpet wereplaced very near the doffing point, so that the gathering-in action ofthe trumpet upon the sliver would begin almost as soon as the sliverleaves the comb, it is possible that under such conditions the sliverwould draw directly into the trumpet without an intermediate support.The conditions of practical operation, as to piecingup or starting asliver, absolutely preclude such an arrangement of the mechanism evenshould the material or stock lend itself thereto.

Referring to Fig. 3, wherein I have indicated at 32 the gathering in ofthe sheet or film of sliver 29, it will be seen that the narrowing orgathering in begins at a very short distance from the mouth of thetrumpet 12, making a very blunt or obtuse angle, and dead spaces areleft adjacent the trumpet plate 23 and at each side of the gathered insliver. To prevent small particles of fiber, fiufi, or fly from lodgingtherein and collecting to interfere with the travel ofthe sliver Iprovide inturned curved extensions 33 at the lower ends of each pair ofguides or partitions 28, said extensions bemg curved substantially toconform to the contour of the gathered in edges of the sliver. Suchextensions prevent the collection of small. par ticles in the deadspaces and do not interfore in the least with the travel of the sliver,nor in fact do they act as guides therefor.

By the construction herein shown the sliver travels in a straight pathdirectly from the doffing point to the condensing means, conforming tothe placing of the combed fibers in the sliver, so that there ispractically no alteration in the path of movement of the fibers nor anyabrupt repositioning of the samethroughout the op eration, therebyfacilitating the maximum production of the machine and greatly improvingthe strength and uniformity of the condensed sliver, and enabling it tobe twisted and spun with greater ease in subsequent operations. 7

My invention is not restricted to the precise construction andarrangement herein shown and described, for the same may be modified orre-arranged in various details by those skilled in the art withoutdeparting from the spirit and scope of my invention as set forth in theclaims hereunto annexed.

Having fully described my invention, what I claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent is:

1. The combination, in a carding machine having means to doii anddeliver a sheet of sliver, of sliver condensingmeans compris-r in atrumpet and positively driven rolls,- located below and at a distancefrom the dofiing point to enable the sliver to maintain a flat ribbonform for a considerable extent to permit ready piecing up and startingof the sliver, and means extending substan- 3 tially tangentially fromthe doffing point to 1 support the sliver in a straight, direct andinclined path of movement between the said doiiing point and the trumpetwhile per Copies of this patent may be obtained for mitting a uniformand uninterruptedflow of the sliver upon said support. I

2. The combination, in a carding machine adapted to dofi and deliverside by side a plurality of sheets of sliver, of a trumpet andcooperating condensing rolls for each sliver, located below and at adistance from the doifing point to enable each sheet o1 sliver tomaintain its flat ribbon form for a considerable extent to permit readypiecing up, an inclined, fiat support arranged with its upper endsubstantially tangential to the dofling point to sustain the severalsheets of sliver in direct and parallelpaths of movement between thesaid dofling point and the several .trumpets while permitting unimpededHow of the sheets of sliver overthe support, and upright partitions onthe support between and to maintain separated adja'cent sheets ofsliver, said partitions being parallel to each other and to thedirection of travel of the sheets of sliver;

.In testimony whereof, I have signed my name to this specification, inthe presence of two subscribing Witnesses. ,r

WILLIAM B. RUNDLETT.

Witnesses F. W, Gnsme, Jr.,

FRED REDMAN.

five cents each, by addressing the ccmmissioner of Patents, Washington,D. C. i

